Behind quarterbacks, elite nose tackles are the hardest position to find because its a challenge to find a 340-pound human athletic enough to routinely take on two blocker without being moved, serving as a the pillar of granite in a 3-4 scheme.

Soliai, who at one time was viewed as draft disappointment considering he was the only player in the 2007 draft class who didn’t play on a 1-15 team, has turned into the anchor of the Dolphins’ 3-4 scheme.

“I don’t get a lot of stats, but we finished third against the run [in 2012] and that’s the only number that matters to me,” Soliai said, referring to his unit holding opponents to 3.7 yards per carry.

Now he’s an NFL Pro Bowler, who got there as an alternate, but also on the respect of his peers and coaches.

Because of his productive 2011 season, where Soliai contributed 27 tackles, he’ll command a salary north of $45 million.

The four-year extension Ravens nose tackle Haloti Ngata got last season after being tagged, which paid him a $25 million signing bonus, is the bar for Soliai and his camp.

The guaranteed money on Ngata’s deal is $27.1 million. Another $10 million is guaranteed for injury only, until March 2012. Ngata will earn $44 million over the first three years.

The Dolphins could franchise Soliai again this offseason, but that would mean guaranteeing him a salary of $15 million, which would eat up all the team’s salary cap space.

So….the decision comes down to letting Soliai walk as a free agent, or lock him up, depleted the salary and cap space that would be used on a free agent quarterback like Peyton Manning or Matt Flynn.

Nose tackle or quarterback upgrade?

If you look at the decision from that perspective you’d understand why Soliai expects to become an unrestricted, and the Dolphins are stuck between a rock and a Soliai.

Comments (211 Comments)

Just because he doesn’t pass rush as well as Cam Wake doesn’t make him useless.

People get too caught up into sacks, etc.

Let’s say someone gets 16 sacks in a season well that’s pretty good but 1 sack in one game isn’t going to make the difference in a game.

Misi does all the little things right and rarely makes a bad read unlike Cam Wake who lets RB go right by him even when they are his assignment (ala Cleveland game where he completely blew his assignment on 4th and 7 and Hardesty got an easy reception to convert the 4th down play in the 4th and Miami lost the game after a TD followed).

No, it happens to me too.
sometimes Omars blog space is replaced with and advertisement and all thats left is Hyde’s or Mike’s blogs.
I dont know how to do all those bookmarks or save to page and whatever. Go to front page and search the blogs or keep clicking the refresh till the add is gone and Omars blog is back.
MOB RULES!!!

* That’s Jonathan Joseph, who was developed by new Dolphins DC Kevin Coyle. If Coyle can turn Joseph into a Pro Bowler I can’t wait to see what he does with Vontae Davis and Sean Smith, who both have the tools they need to be elite.

This draft has to see offense all the way in the front of the draft (rounds 1 and 2 and maybe even 3).

The defense is already pretty good and yes it could use a big time DE/OLB or straight up 4-3 DE but the reduction in points per game is not going to be as great as the points per game increase coming from the offense with added pieces.

Those 3rd and 1 and 4th and 1 failures against the Eagles were the writing on the wall.

Also in the Dallas game where Colombo and Carey allowed the pocket to collapse right into Matt Moore’s face to the point where he couldn’t get a throw off in time (this happened several times on 3rd down in that game including on the final offensive drive).

As much as it pains me to say this, Ireland has to be thinking OT in RD 1 or RD 2.

With ALL DUE RESPECT, how is Misi going to keep up with a TE? I’m not trying to get in an arguement, but a 4-3 backer needs to be able to be sleek.

I’m sorry, but Misi is NOT that guy. I think it would be a first for a guy to play big DE in college (Utah), lose weight to become a big run-defending OLB in a 3-4 D, and then becoming a sleek 4-3 backer. That’s just not realistic.

Anybody that values Soliai over a franchise QB is on crack. Exactly how far has Soliai taken us the past few years? How can did the piece of $hit Patriots defense get this year? Oh yeah, 13-3 and now in the SB. How far did the statistically-worst defense make it this year? Oh yeah, 15-1 in the regular a year after winning the SB. I’d take an elite QB every time of an elite NT. Period.

We paid Soliai over $10mil to play what % of our snaps? And you guys are seriously having an $hit-fit about Misi’s value? Guess what…? Everyone is saying we’ll show both 3-4 and 4-3 looks. Guess what… Misi has played 4-3 DE. Guess what else? Misi has played 3-4 OLB. Guess what else? Misi was playing inside at the end of our season. Is Misi elite? No. Is he valuable and able to contribute? Yes. Does he have position flexibility? Yes. Is his contract a team-killer? No. Misi is not a problem for our team. He is an asset. Fretting over Misi isn’t necessary.

PSU – You are correct about Misi but Fin Fans want GREAT players at every position, well you just can’t have that in the salary cap era.

Maybe it’s good that Misi is “just good” and not “great”. Ireland would then have to let him walk when his contract is up! Like is being talked about with Soliai. And Langford.

Good teams have what, 5 or 6 great players at a high salary and the rest good players at reasonable salaries? This Fins team already has Jake, BM, Dansby, Bush, Soliai at high salaries and Wake will join that club soon, and Vonte too when his rookie contract expires.

Yet all I hear is we need an upgrade here, upgrade there, a better LB than Misi!

To be honest, I’m expecting us to get Matt Flynn. If not, I have to say I’m not still not completely convinced we go after RG III if we don’t. We’ll see what happens. Keep in Mind Sherman and Tannehill, and the possibility that he may believe in Tannehill.

M13, I have been in favor of staying a 3-4 team anyway as our LB unit is best suited for that D as is our current D line. We’ll see who they sign or don’t. Lang and Odrick are perfect in their spots in a 3-4. I think Misi is a better fit in a 3-4 but he could play in a 4-3 on the strong side. He would likely be the guy coming out when we go into nickle.

Me and Omar are not on the same page. I liked Upshaw a lot from what I’ve watched of the Senior Bowl practices. he did not mention him. I expect us to either pick at #8 or #9, wherever we end up, or trade back, Omar thinks we’re all in for a trade UP. We’ll see.

We do, however, agree on DT3. I’m not convinced with him, and it appears Omar isn’t either.

Two thousand yard, 80+ reception seasons playing with mediocre QBs, one of the worst OLs in the NFL and terrible coaching. And you folks continue to complain about BM. Amazing. What we’ve seen in the pro bowl tonight is no surprise to me. The man consistently makes great catches. You folks sure forgot Ted Ginn fast.

He actually made me laugh. I really liked what he said about Sparano, and the guys on the team, but when he said he’s had about 3 different QB’s in MIA, it nearly cracked me up, because he’s had nearly 3 different QB’s in this GAME. lol

Mike Berardino
Also In Miami Dolphins
Brandon Marshall does not refer to new Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin by name: “New coach coming in is inheriting a strong team” … I would expect those two to get along just fine, but I’m not sure Philbin appreciated the Sparano shout-out while his own name seemed to escape No. 19

Bruce
January 29, 2012 at 10:47 pm
Two thousand yard, 80+ reception seasons playing with mediocre QBs, one of the worst OLs in the NFL and terrible coaching. And you folks continue to complain about BM. Amazing. What we’ve seen in the pro bowl tonight is no surprise to me. The man consistently makes great catches. You folks sure forgot Ted Ginn fast.

Bruce – You sure forget the dropped TD’s in the beginning of the year too. I know he has the talent, he may not always have the desire though. He made up his mind he was going to do this tonight. he should make up his mind he’s going to do that every time he suits up in a Dolphins uniform. Spare me this bullsh*t post!

It’s not a matter of whether Moore is elite. What if we draft RG III, but he’s not ready to start at the beginning of the season, and Moore starts the 1st 8 games? It’s totally unnecessary. Whether he’s right or not is irrelevant.

tag and trade him. Hes not going to get Ngata money, Ngata is a 3-4 nt and a play maker on the field. He causes fumbles, bats down balls and gets sacks while being double teamed. Its why solia only cares about one stat

He gets half the tackles of Haloti Ngata & Vince Wilfork. Let him walk, unless he is willing to take 1/2 of what they make. If he thinks he is worth 50 -60 mil over (5) years, he and his agent are seriously delusional. Some desperate team will end up paying him. (WASHINGTON)

Goodbye Soliai. Not the kind of player I like to see leave Miami but let’s face it, a QB upgrade trumps keeping the NT. He also isn’t as good as Ngata so shouldn’t be getting that kind of money. Hopefully they can pick up a decent replacement at NT in the draft.

I found it funny that the announcers of the pro bowl said “when he wants to BM” can be elite. or something like that. Its true. I like him n I am not in favor of trading him or anything like that. But when he is so inconsistent and then goes and runs his mouth putting down his teammates directly or indirectly it makes it really hard to support him.

Any notion that Soliai belongs in the same sentence as Ngata is nothing short of retarded. there is absolutely NO comparison in terms of productivity or level of play. It’s apples and oranges. Soliai wouldn’t put up the same numbers as Ngata if he played in Baltimore but it’s a lock that Ngata would put up better numbers than Soliai did if he played in Miami. Soliai becomes even less valuable to the Dolphins if Miami is going to play more 4-3 next year. Soliai had no business playing in the Pro Bowl. I’d rather have Calais Campbell next year.

Wasnt there an announcement the Dolphins would return to the 4-3 defense? Makes Soliai non factor. Dolphins will draft a quick, powerfull DT. and let Soliai go where he might. Dolphins need franchise QB, if Moore aint the one.

The Fins were third against the run and he was only blocked by one guy!
There is others in FA (limited number), but go after Cory Redding from Baltimore and draft a DT in the 3rd round. Their will be talent lingering around in the 3rd round.

OMAR KELLY was unsuccessful at achieving his childhood dream to become a super hero, so he figured he'd do the next best thing and become a journalist who fights against injustice, and searches for truth. After being bored to death reporting news and covering politics, he switched to sports.
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IZZY GOULD joined the Sun Sentinel in Feb. 2012 as a Senior Sports Reporter on the Miami Dolphins beat. He came to South Florida fresh off covering the University of Alabama football program, including its 2011 national championship team. More